Dynamics of Islamic Renaissance Kaleem Where does Islam stand in history? What is Islam’s contribution in the socio-political and economic domains? What are its strengths? What are the reasons of growth or setbacks of Islam in the past five centuries? Its association with the European civilization? Let’s reflect a little on these. It is difficult to accurately mark an era or period in history. Nevertheless, certain dates help us trace historical events: 1492 and 1498 are such dates. Columbus started his journey in 1492 and Vasco De Gama in 1498. It cannot be said that their journey in boats was a beginning of an era. However certain fundamental changes were seen in Europe towards the end of the 15th century. A major socio-political change was the waning of the influence of the Catholic Church and the advent of nationalism based on language. Catholic Church had been a very influential, ancient and strong religious organization. Blessings of the Church were required for the kings to win support of the people. If the Church ostracizes a king from religion, most probably the people would dethrone him; and kill him if it is opportune. Pope then had such a strong influence. Pope Gregory VII expelled the French king Henry IV from the Church. The king struggled for several months and at last he reached the Canosa where the Bishop was residing. He had to wait two to three days in the chilling cold before getting an audience with the Bishop. Ultimately he was re-admitted to the religion. Thus the regime of Henry was legalized. Such was the influence of the Church in that era. Industrial Revolution brought an end to this era. Industrial Revolution was the cataclysmic event of 16th and 17th centuries. It was the first endeavor of production using machines instead of ordinary tools something that stretched human capability. What emerged was amazing: erstwhile yarn-spinning using the wheel changed to spinning using machinery. Techniques were invented to run machines using water. Steam was found to be useful in running trains. Contribution of steam engine in the human history has been fabulous. A single machine started weaving 100yards of cloth a day where ten persons had been weaving 50 yards a day. The ensuing concern was to sell out these products. Exports started when these items remained in the warehouses of the manufacturers. When hurdles came in the way of such exports, efforts to overcome them followed. Seizing other countries became inevitable to achieve exports. Thus begun the age of colonialism; and that was how the Britons became the rulers of the world. Around 80% of the total land was under the control of the Britons at the beginning of the 20th century. This triggered the expansion of capitalism and markets. Capitalism was born in England. More capital, more raw materials and more markets had to be found out to feed the factories. A single person alone would not be able to invest that much capital. Thus Joint Stock Companies - Limited Liability Company arrived - entities liable to pay back only for the investment (as a corollary, you will be liable only for the amount you invested; and you will not be liable for any debts the company might incur) . The new business model too was English in origin. Huge amounts started flowing in when joint stock companies were formed. That was how the East India Company was formed. This also resulted in weakening of the Catholic Church (i.e. multinational companies were replacing the Church). ....contd
Posted on: Sat, 26 Jul 2014 10:08:41 +0000
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